My Brock HDT Commodore

Jim Middleton says his Commodore was driven by a Holden executive before Brock's team modified it as a prototype.

It is generally accepted that all limited edition 1980 Brock HDT Commodores came in white, red or black only. But Jim has the green, actually a two-tone green, which he says is authentic and has a fascinating history.

And he should know, because he got it originally from Peter Brock's team, sold it, and then bought it back. Peter Brock entered the production of special cars in 1979 after Holden retired from motorsport and left him to run his own team. Brock hired Holden dealers across the country, for whom he created a limited edition VC Commodore.

In turn, the dealer's support helped fund its racing operations. Middleton says: “The first 500 cars were red, white or black. But there were also two prototypes, blue and green."

The prototypes, blue manual and green automatic, were an earlier VB model. “My car is number one. There was no nameplate on the engine. They were numbered on the steering wheel. My number is 001 on the steering wheel.”

It began life as a light green 4.2 liter VB SL Commodore built in May 1979. Middleton says it was originally driven by a Holden executive before Brock's team purchased it and modified it as a prototype.

“The car came to Brock from General Motors. At the time, it was the car of John Harvey (Brock's teammate). The 5-litre V8 HDT Commodores received larger valves, modified distributors and carburetors, suspension work, a body kit including a rear spoiler and front choke, as well as custom Irmscher wheels from Germany and a special paint job, among other changes.

In this configuration, they accelerated to 0 km / h in 100 seconds, and the engines produced 8.4 kW and 160 Nm of torque. They sold for $450 ($20,000 less per instruction) and were quickly snapped up by eager players. Middleton says the cars now cost between $200 and $70,000, and his rare prototype can cost up to $80,000.

Middleton worked for Holden dealer Les Wagga in Pennant Hills, Sydney, one of the HDT dealers. He says that in 1982, Brock and Harvey visited the dealer on their way to the Amaru Park race, where they agreed with the dealer to sell the green prototype because they no longer needed it. By then, Brock's team was making the next limited edition, the VH Commodore.

“That weekend, I sold it to my dad’s buddy. I bought it from him in August 1993." Middleton says the car had covered over 100,000 kilometers by then and was in need of some work.

“It was the slowest recovery program in the world,” he says of work he completed just this year. “I wasn't in a big hurry. I knew it was my first car. It had minor damage from car parks. It really needed to be taken apart and put back together.”

Middleton then installed new panels, new door frames, new guards and a new hood, and updated the engine and transmission. This year, he took it to the Muscle Car Masters event in Eastern Creek, where Harvey spotted it and drove it through the parade.

“He instantly recognized her,” says Middleton. This weekend, around 70 HDT owners from across the country will gather in Albury to celebrate 30 years of cars in a gathering known as Brocks on the Border.

Middleton says about half of the original 500 road cars still exist. A further 12 were built as race cars for the one-off race at Calder in support of the 1980 Australian Grand Prix. Some of them also still exist.

Middleton says he's likely to sell the car, which hasn't been driven much lately. “Lucky to travel 300 to 400 km in 17 years.”